The University of Lynchburg has added a new club sport to its roster: its first winter guard team. It currently has eight members.
Winter guard is an activity closely related to color guard, except that it typically takes place indoors, apart from sporting events, and is set to recorded music.
The sport makes use of several props — flags, rifles, and sabers — in an activity called “spinning.” This means a literal spinning of the props, as well as tossing them high in the air.
Winter guard competitions draw tens of thousands of performers and spectators every year, with Winter Guard International — its premier governing body — reporting 65,000 attendees at their World Championships in 2024.
It’s one of the fastest growing of the “marching arts,” a category that includes marching band and drum corps.
Lynchburg’s team is the brainchild of Alexis Scott, assistant director of belonging and mentorship initiatives. Scott had been planning to start a winter guard team since she first started working for the University in 2024.
“I spun [from] sixth grade all the way through college [at NC State],” she said. “I didn’t spin at NC State, but I spun with an independent group.”
Scott also coached guard at a high school in Holly Springs, North Carolina, for five years.
“I love the students,” she said. “I just love getting to coach and see a show come to life. … There’s a lot that kind of comes with it, too — a lot of personal growth.”
Before the start of the Fall 2025 semester, Scott mentioned her idea to Steve Bradney, director of campus recreation.
“I told him I was interested in starting a winter guard team,” she said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know who’d be interested. I’m not really sure how to get it going.’”
Bradney told Scott that Dr. Stephen Smith ’97, ’99 MEd, current interim associate vice president of academic and strategic operations, had a college-age daughter who was also enthusiastic about winter guard.
Sierra Smith ’27 said Scott approached her during orientation about joining the team. She immediately agreed. Soon after, Scott gained another team member while teaching her College Success Strategies class. The three of them set up a table in Drysdale Student Center to invite prospective teammates to an interest meeting.
By the end of that interest meeting, the team had grown to eight members. The size of winter guard teams can vary, Scott said, with some teams numbering around 15 to 20. “When you’re just starting, I feel like eight is a good number,” she said.
The team’s immediate goal is raising funds for costumes and equipment. Should they pursue membership in Winter Guard International, they would have to pay membership fees.
Scott hopes the team can showcase what winter guard is and what they have to offer the University.
“A lot of people, when I tell them that I’m really passionate about this, they have no clue what it is. … It’s this really big sport, and I don’t think people realize that,” Scott said.
Scott envisions the team performing at University events, ideally by the spring. Further down the line, she also sees herself taking the team to competitions.
“I did ask — on our registration form — for members to rate where they were leaning, whether they wanted it to be kind of fun and social only, or if they really wanted to compete, and a majority of the students said they would love to compete,” she said.
As excited as Scott is at the prospect of future team competitions, she wants to remain mindful of the student’s intentions.
“What’s really important for me is to make sure that this group is what [the students] want as well,” she said. “I know that my dreams and aspirations are really big, and I have all these thoughts and ideas … but, at the end of the day, they’re the priority.”
Scott said the benefits of winter guard are wide-ranging.
“For the folks that get involved, [winter guard] is super impactful,” she said. “You learn communication skills, leadership skills, you work on your self-confidence and self-assurance. …
“I feel like [it’s] … is a safe space for everybody. You can be your true self. … I know that a lot of the LGBTQ community participates in this … and it’s people’s first chance to get to be who they want to be.”
The backgrounds of the eight team members vary widely. Adam Matejko ’28 is an exercise physiology major from Danville, Virginia. He’s a Westover Honors Fellow, a student government secretary, a Bonner Leader, and an equestrian who still finds time to spin a rifle for the winter guard team.
“Right now, we’re just in the process of getting the basics down,” he said.
Matejko did “weapon line” — rifles and sabers — for two years in high school. For him, guard is a great way to be active in the community.
“Everyone can do it,” he said, “no matter what background they come from. It’s just putting in the effort and getting the mindset. …
“It teaches you to have a strong mindset. It gives you a way to exercise, and it gives you a way to connect with people. … It’s a judge-free environment, and it’s a great way to have fun, express yourself, and just be there.”
Nirbisha Mishra ’28 is a nursing major from Kathmandu, Nepal, who had never heard of winter guard before coming to Lynchburg. A friend introduced her to the sport by showing her a video.
Mishra, who danced in high school and who said she “loves performing,” decided to give it a try. She said it was new and challenging for her, but she likes a challenge. “Without challenge,” she said, “life would be boring.”
Mishra is now training on “flagging,” in which the performer spins and waves a flag in a rhythmic way. “Once you get the hang of it, you are like, ‘Oh, it’s easy!’ … It feels cool,” she said.
Joining winter guard, she says, has been a great way for her to make friends. “There was only one person [on the team] who I knew before, and now I’m friends with all of them. … Whenever we see each other outside of class, we always say, ‘Hello.’”
Rileyann Simone ’28 has done color guard for six years and winter guard for one. She planned to join Liberty University’s guard program, but decided to attend Lynchburg once she heard about its criminal forensics major.
“Liberty just didn’t have what I wanted for a major, but [Lynchburg] did,” she said.
When the opportunity to join Lynchburg’s winter guard presented itself, she jumped on it.
“I really like it,” she said. “I really like Alexis. … I’m starting to meet new people and realize how popular [guard] is.”
One of the initial challenges for the new team was finding a suitable place to practice. At first, they practiced in Hall Campus Center’s Memorial Ballroom, but it wasn’t ideal.
“The ceiling is just too staggered,” Simone explained. “So even if we did do a toss, we would have to either watch out for the projector, or have to aim it right so we don’t hit a light.”
Later, they secured practice spaces in Sydnor Performance Hall and Wake Field House.
Another challenge has been synthesizing all of the members’ different guard experiences.
“[In guard], everyone does everything a little differently,” Matejko said. “The names of what everything is called [and] since it’s eight different people coming from eight different backgrounds, getting into the same style.”
Simone believes that despite these early obstacles, the team is starting to cohere.
“We’ve definitely started to form a bond,” she said. “We’re learning from each other at the same time that we’re learning together.”
